I have used wix or baldwin filters only and NEVER one problem and i have had trucks with over 1 million miles on them and never had a filter related brake down. one of my 90 cummins is heading to the 400K mark .

the F word will never have my hood closed on it

 

No, I'm just pulling it it out of my <edit>, what do you think?
I've known four people who have fought DC over failed Fleetguards, two gave up and paid for a new engine themselves, the other two had their trucks down for over six months fighting DC. All four failures were the result of the filter housing cracking, all the trucks were under warranty. DC's excuse is if anyone other than the dealer changes your oil no warranty.

A good friend owns a quick-lube business that uses Fram as most do, who has had several filter failures that have caused engine damage. He tells me Fram has taken care of every one of them very fast, usually within two weeks, it didn't matter if the vehicle was brand new or thirty years old.
I still won't use a Fram because they are cheap but their amount of failures most likely matches percent wise any other filter manufacturer. You just hear of them more often since more Fram filters are used nationwide than any other filter by a long shot.

 

THAT is ridiculous!

Interesting info. Infidel, you are quickly making me lose my confidence in Fleetguard.

 

As I recall, some of the early 24 valve oil filter failures were remedied when they came out with the LF3894 which had a stronger filter body to withstand the higher cold start pressures.
Was that the type of failures you were speaking of Bill?

 

Yes on two of them, the other two were the newer design. DC covered most of the old filter failures under warranty as long the filter was dealer installed. In fact most failures were with the filter that came with a new truck.
The earlier filters tended to crack on 24 valves, Fleetguard beefed them up. Not much different than Fram eliminating neoprene. Trial and error engineering?

One of the newer filters that cracked was the result of a malfunctioning bypass valve that overpressurized the filter. DC still denied warranty because the owner changed his own oil. He ended up having the truck towed to Cummins for failure analysis that he had to pay over $1000 for himself. Even after Cummins determined the real reason for the failure was the bypass DC still said no warranty. It took him months of legal wangling before DC finally all the sudden gave in and paid all. The fellow, who was retired on a limited budget, was still out of much of his own time and no truck for months. Now that Cummins won't work Dodges I wonder what would have happened if DC was the only party involved. DC has an army of reps whose whole purpose is to deny warranty.

The other new design filter failure most likely was caused by the owner changing his own oil but he wouldn't admit it. From my prior knowledge his mechanical aptitude I think he used a strap wrench to overtighten the filter possibly denting it. After the filter split open it was impossible to tell if this was the case though. He didn't fight DC, possibly out of guilt, and had to pay for a new engine on his own dime.

 

Well, do you really expect someone to just accept that at face value over ther internet do you?

I find it absurd to claim that DC wouldn't cover a repair because an owner did the oil change. In fact, I just don't believe it. They would have to make up some legal reason, they can't ignore the law. I guess the fact that they lost their case should say something.

 

Here it is.. I took some time after lunch and I found his latest updated works. http://minimopar.knizefamily.net/oilfilters.html
Most of his research data is still from about 5yrs ago.
Sorta disappointed he didn't ever examine any filters for our trucks or specifically any fleetguard filters.
Anyway, take a look at the innards of some of the most popular filters sold for gassers .
Take note of all the references to "glue" and "cardboard" in the construction of many of these popular filters examined.
I'm shocked that the very same popular name-brand filter I used on my old GMC gasser was one of the worst he rated. (Fram)

I know its messy, but drain the heck out of a Fleetguard made filter and carefully cut it open.
You'll see that can is stuffed FULL of filter media... It is well built and if the filtering media is anything close to what Fleetguard touts it to be, that should be a quality filter.

K.